Why Is Codeine Still Being Prescribed For Children?

April 22, 2014 3:30 PM

7
0

This isn’t an isolated concern. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Chest Physicians, the Canadian Ministry of Health, European Medicines Agency, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have all issued warnings of some type that discourage codeine use in children under age 12. Even the World Health Organization removed codeine from its list of painkillers.

The investigators reviewed data from the U.S. National Hospital and Ambulatory Care database corresponding to over 189 million emergency department visits by children and adolescents (age 3 to 17) between 2001 and 2010. They specifically examined ER visits for injury and cough or upper respiratory i...